TheBenzingerGame Am I crazy, or did he kind of reach over the wall to slap hands with that Sox fan before he landed?

SoxScout OMG he gave a high-5 to the fan... OH MY GOD

TFisNEXT Ball was ripped by Millar...not a ton of hang time. Manny running basically with his back to home and catches it with his glove out-stretched at the front of the warning track....then he climbs the wall with his momentum, gives a high five to a fan and then throws it back in for the DP.

dbn The high-5.... Manny just out-Manny-ed himself being Manny.

***

There is a clip at mlb.com, but I need a youtube video I can save and embed.

The MLB version only shows the stupid Thorne version. NESN has the Manny post-game interview but not the play itself. Yet. If they post it, they better show everything, including the guys in the dugout watching and laughing.

In other news, I'm watching basketball and apparently I now refer to dunks as "basketball dongs."

Can someone email me the video? THAT WAS ME!!! I'm the fan he highfived! I came all the way from Oklahoma to see this game with my parents who now live in MD. My mom and dad are on my left. Manny has always been my favorite Sox player and what happend today left me speechless. When he caught it, I did the Manny pose and pointed at him with both hands, then he came right at me, I thought he was gonna do a lambeau leap, then he highfived my hand and dropped down.

I leave for military training in a couple weeks and going to this game was one of my last things I wanted to do before leaving. Please send the video. I've been trying to save one all night.

And of course, ESPN doesn't pick it for their #1 webgem of the NIGHT, even. It was #3 behind a barehanded play by David Wright at third base for the Mets, and a catch made at the center field wall by Rick Ankiel to take a home run away.

Same with on Sportscenter, too. #3 behind a Cincinnati Reds player hitting a walkoff single for his first MLB hit, and Ankiel's catch. On both shows, there was at two of the hosts who said "Why isn't Manny's number one?"

As was the case with Fisk's famous gestures as the ball sailed to the foul pole in the '75 Game Six, those of us sitting on the third-base side saw Manny's great catch but missed the high-five, as we (as Manny should have)immediately swung our attention to the runners on the bases. I didn't even know about the high-five with Randy until I read JOS last night.It's a great moment, but as with many Manny moments, not without its annoying aspects. The high-five didn't cost the Sox anything THIS time, but Manny's weird sense of priorities (which I am finally convinced is just hot-wired into him and unfixable) during games has and will. It's great having a player who displays the innocent exuberance of the sandlot and all, but personally, with a game to win, I'll take the player with the cold professional approach of a Carl Yastrzemski any day,any time.

Redsock: Below the belt.Also just wrong. You've brought me a long way toward tolerance of Manny, and this bit was more amusing and memorable than all the doubles that have turned into singles because Manny went into a home run trot prematurely, but it seems to me any fan whose #1 goal is to win has to look at these things like Lugo's tendency to make key errors, Varitek's lousy hitting with the bases juiced, and Drew's fragility: its a weakness, and it makes the team less likely to win than if it wasn't there.

Also: I encourage kids to stand on my lawn to hide all the bare spots.

Jack: Your comment makes you sound like a cranky old man complaining about these crazy kids these days. Sorry, it just does.

Why not loosen up and enjoy the play for what it was?

Also, please note that in high-fiving the fan, Manny lost no time in getting the ball back to the infield. In fact, it happened so fast, almost no one really knew what had happened. It's not like he caught the ball shy of the track, then ambled over to the stands and chatted with a fan while the runner got back to the bag safely.

That's part of what makes it so amazing. He did it all in one fairly fluid motion!!!

... it seems to me any fan whose #1 goal is to win has to look at these things like Lugo's tendency to make key errors, Varitek's lousy hitting with the bases juiced, and Drew's fragility: its a weakness, and it makes the team less likely to win than if it wasn't there.

Huge difference: I do not laugh my ass off at Lugo's errors or Tek's noodle bat. This, however, is something you couldn't even dream up -- and we'll likely never see anything like it again.

Redsock: we don't disagree on that part at all. I love that about baseball. I'm glad I "saw" the play (sort of); it will be fun when I'm 85 (next year) to tell my grandchildren that I was in the park with their father when Hall of Famer Manny Ramirez did his famous "high five" double play. Hell (or perhaps I should say, "By Crackey!") I was at the game in '67 when catcher Bob Tillman beaned pitcher John Wyatt with a throw to second intended to catch a base-stealer. Everybody laughed their ass off. And Dick Williams barely played Tillman again. (I think we can agree that D.Williams and Manny would not have gotten along.)

When and if, as I have long believed would happen, one of Manny's moments of whimsy loses a crucial play-off or World Series game, or causes the Sox to lose a game with immediate importance to making the post-season, I hope you will explain to me why widespead fan encouragement of stunts like yesterday's didn't set the stage.

And if Manny's Muff never happens, I'll agree that the laughs were worth it.

but it seems to me any fan whose #1 goal is to win has to look at these things like Lugo's tendency to make key errors, Varitek's lousy hitting with the bases juiced

Both of those hurt the team and have no positive outcome. Whereas what Manny did helped the team and had only positive outcome.

Drew's fragility

A judgement, not a fact, thus irrelevant.

its a weakness, and it makes the team less likely to win than if it wasn't there.

Are you seriously saying that Manny exhibiting joy and exuberance as he plays makes the team less likely to win? You seriously believe that a dour, all-business demeanour actually helps a team win, all else being equal?

You may have a preference for players who are not demonstrative or outwardly emotional. That's a personal thing. We all have "types" of players we prefer.

But to pretend that those external appearances actually translate into production is ridiculous. I'm sure we could all name dozens of all-business players whose performance was utterly forgettable. (Or we could if they weren't so forgettable.)

With an attitude like that, you really should write for the Globe. Your original comment is just the sort of thing I'd expect to see from CHB.

Are you seriously saying that Manny exhibiting joy and exuberance as he plays makes the team less likely to win?

Not to answer for Jack, but if that joy and exuberance prevent him from getting around the bases properly, it certainly could! As much as my love for Manny is swelling, it still pisses me off when he doesn't get out of the batter's box.

But all told, I'll take him, very gladly.

Jack talks about a fan having a goal of their team winning. For me, there's a difference between a hope and a goal in this case. (It ever so slightly irks and confounds me when my wife says "Congratulations!" when the Sox win.) It's my goal in watching baseball to enjoy it. I didn't see yesterday's game, but hearing about this Manny thing made the loss sting a lot less and brought a bit of joy back into things for me.

The other thing I can get behind with Manny is that his weird behavior is so spontaneous, as Jack said. You couldn't beat it out of him with a Louisville Slugger. I read the Kurkjian article on ESPN (prompted by the Joba flak) yesterday about how excessive the celebrations are getting out of hand -- the whole team bouncing around the plate every walkoff and such -- and how that behavior's been feeding on itself ever since SportsCenter started replaying it back in the 80's. Gossage says something exaggerated like he didn't say a single word for his first two years in the dugout; I'm sure he and some of the old guard think of Manny as an overindividualist punk. But copycat he is not.

L-Girl: I fear you are not understanding or acknowledging what is pretty clear in my post. I said nothing against exuberance. I love players who show their emotions. Youk, Pedroia, Papi, Bill Lee, Oil Can, George Scott (a truly joyous player), Millar, Damon, are among my all time favorites. It's Manny's judgement, professionalism and priorities that are wrong...letting exuberance get in the way of his duties to the team and the game. I DON'T like business-like players as a rule---it took me a long time to warm up to Yaz. But my point is that he would never let expressing his enjoyment of the game interrupt his duties on the field. I don't get the "he made the play, so it's all right" argument---it's exactly like the "Babe Ruth may have been drunk, but he hit a homer so it doesn't matter" argument. It DOES matter, just as it mattered that Manny nearly (he sure deserved to) got himself thrown out of the game yesterday when the Sox had no outfielders---a guy named "Van Every" was playing next to him, for God's sakes. That was exuberant and stupid. But you would say, I guess, that it's OK since he got away with it, just like he got away with fooling around with fans mid-play.This is so obvious to me. You DONN'T FOOL AROUND WITH THR FANS DURING A PLAY! How can anyone disagree with that? And if that's a valid principle, how can you celebrate someone who breaks it?

I just got back from the Cabella's grand opening near Portland, Maine. Got a mini Red Sox license plate signed by Timlin and Joe Castiglione. Although he still is an adventure on the slab, I've got a new respect for him in just how warm and genuine he was. Very nice guy, very down to earth, and looking at him, it made you feel like there was nowhere else in the world he wanted to be right then. Very cool guy.

Definitely worth standing in line behind a bunch of little kids with those toy guns that make loud popping noises, and a guy who smells of pot.

A foreign language? Wow. You can't understsand why someone would object to a player farting around with fans in the stands mid-play. Amazing. And if Manny had set himself wrong for the throw because of the high-five and missed the easy DP, would it have been just as charming then? I suppose so.

My point about Van Every was NOT that there was anything wrong with his name (I recognize this site often has a hair trigger on political correctness matters, but Christ---give me a break!) but that the fact that a total stranger (indicated by an unfamiliar name, which Van Every certainly was) was playing center should have clued in Manny that the outfielding ranks were, uh, THIN, and it was no time to get thrown out of the game. THAT was my point, and re-reading the post, I think it was clear the first time.

9Casey: "Any Red Sox fan who finds fault in Manny after this long, just doesn't get it." That makes no sense at all, my friend. The duration of a flaw doesn't eliminate it or change its character. Manny's pluses outweigh his minuses, and many of his minuses are amusing, but the fact that they are tolerated by most fans doesn't change a weakness into a virtue.

9Casey:"I spoke to many Yankee fans today and they loved it." Well, by all means, if YANKEE fans liked it, it must be aces...

I just got back from the Cabella's grand opening near Portland, Maine. Got a mini Red Sox license plate signed by Timlin and Joe Castiglione. Although he still is an adventure on the slab, I've got a new respect for him in just how warm and genuine he was. Very nice guy, very down to earth, and looking at him, it made you feel like there was nowhere else in the world he wanted to be right then. Very cool guy.

I'm glad you had fun at the opening, but hopefully you know what you experienced has zippo to do with baseball. You sound like people who voted for Bush because he has a solid handshake.

I mean no offense, honestly I don't. But you actually don't know if Timlin is a very cool guy or not. (He may very well be one, I have no idea.) You just know he was gracious at a public appearance.

My point about Van Every was NOT that there was anything wrong with his name (I recognize this site often has a hair trigger on political correctness matters, but Christ---give me a break!)

It was not political correctness. I also had no idea why you brought up his name. It seemed quite odd. Once you explain it, I realize what you meant, but I never would have understood it otherwise.

On a side note, unrelated to Jack, I HATE!! when people mock consideration and courtesy as "political correctness". For centuries whole segments of the population were disparaged and referred to in less than human terms. Now some of us insist that is wrong and shouldn't be the case. Refer to people as people, the way you would wish to be referred to. This is not "political correctness". It's just decency.

There are things that players do in a game that are genius if it works and stupid if it doesn't. That might fall under that category. How many of you were thinking about the double play in real time as the play was occuring and as the catch was happening?

I wonder what would have happened if someone else was playing LF, caught the ball, and didn't throw in for a DP. Or the throw was inaccurate. No theatrics. No high fives. Catch the ball, throw back in.

9Casey:"I spoke to many Yankee fans today and they loved it." Well, by all means, if YANKEE fans liked it, it must be aces...

I think you are smart enough to understand that statement , just being a Red Sox fan...

Jack , I just feel as though you think people can not be succesful and aloof at the same time...You are old school in your thinking , that everything to be done right must be serious, and I am sure it trickles into your life.

You most likely don't find things funny that are low brow, such as The Family Guy, Will Farrel movies, and people like Sacha Cohen.

Thats fine, my father was the same , just how he was raised , we just appreciate someone Like Manny who performs, wins and some how amuses us without saying a word, that my friend is a gift......

... I HATE!! when people mock consideration and courtesy as "political correctness". For centuries whole segments of the population were disparaged and referred to in less than human terms. Now some of us insist that is wrong and shouldn't be the case. Refer to people as people, the way you would wish to be referred to. This is not "political correctness". It's just decency.